National Republican., 1887-08-08
BENEFITS OF INSURANCE
DIR, TALBAGE FINDS THE INSTITUTION
OF BIBLICAL ORIGIN.
Having Found PassnEos OF Scripture
Approving the Plan OF Providing for
Ones Family, the Brooklyn Preacher
EmpbatiUalIy Ipdorsos 1t.

Witt Talmage's sermon for to-day was on the
important subject OF 'Life aud Fire Insurance;
the Christian Principles Involved" His text
was: "Iet him appoint officers over the land,
and take up the fifth part OF the land OF Egypt
in the seventh plenteous years" Genesis, XII,
"a.
These were the words Of Joseph. the prcsi-
dent of the first life insurance company that
the world ever saw. Pharaoh had dream
that distracted him. He thought he stood on
the banks OF the river Nile and saw coming up
out OF the river seven fat, sleek, glossy cows
and they began to browse in the thick grass
Nothing frightful about that. But afler them
coming out of the same river. he saw seven
cows that were gaunt and starved and the
worst looking cows that had ever been seen in
the land, and in the feroolty OF hunger they
devouIcd their seven fat predecessors.
Pharaoh, the king, sent tor Joseph to decipher
these midnight hioroglyphics. Joseph made
short work of 1t, and intimaicd the seven fat
cows that camo out of tho river arc seven
years with plenty TO eat, the seven emacated
cows that followed them are seven years with
nothing to cat "Now," said Joseph, "let us
tai Q one.llflh Of the corn crop of the seven
PROSPEROUS years, aud keep 1t rs provision
for the seven years In which there shall be no
corn crop" The King took the counsel and
public spiritedness, as the president OF the un-
dertakng. The formers. paid one.nith of their
income as premium. In all the towns aud
This great Egyptian life Insurance company
had millions of dollars, rs assets Az;
ter awhile the dark days came and
the whole nation would have starved II II had
not been for the provision they had made for
the future. But now these suffering families
had nothing to do but go UP aud collect the
Sns S hST S the aba Of
there was bread" say this was the first lifo
insurance, company. II was divlnely organ
zsf II had az the the S sG
the reserved endowment plan" and all the
other good plans We are told that Rev. DR.
Anhote, of Lincolnshire, England, originated
the first lie insurance company in 1898. No !
II is as old as the corn cribs Of Egypt; and God
Him,elf was the author and originator. If that
were not 20 would not tgke your time and
mine in Sabbath discussion OF this subject. |
feel 1t is theme vital, religious, aud of inf
nitc import, the morals OF life and IRE irsur-
ante.
grta panic in life insurance which did good.
Under the storm the untruswotthy and bogus
institutions were scattered, while the genuine
were tested and firmly established, and where
docs the life insurance institution stand TO- day?
What amount of comfort of education, ol
moral and spiritual advantage is represented
in the simple statistic that In this country tho
eco COO to the families of the bereft; and n five
years they paid t3O0, 900, 900 to the families OF
the bereft; and are promising to pay-and hold
themselves In readiness to pay-s2 ,OOo,OOO.Oo to
They have actually paid ont more In diyl
dends and death claims than they have ever
received in premiums, ! know Of what
country paid more than seven million dollars
OF taxes TO the government In five years So
instead OF these companies being indebted tc
the land, the land Is indebted to them. Tc
cry out against life insurance because here
and there one company has behaved badly is
as absurd as 1t would be for q man TO burr
down a thousand acres of harvest field in order
ferrous as man who should blow up q crowded
steamer in mid-Atlantic for the purpose of de-
stroying the barnacles on the bottom Of the
hulk.
But what does the Bible say in regard to thi!
subject? II the Bible fayoIs the institution,
will favor IL; If the Rible denounces 1t, l vii
Joseph in the text, call to your attention
Paups comparison. Here is one who, through
neglect, fails to support his family while hi
| lives or after he dies. Hero is another mar
who .abhors the Scriptures and rejects God
| Which of those men Is the worseP Well yot
say, the latter. Paul says the former. Pau
SAYS that man VINO None nesieets s 70 care ior IN, nv
| rejects the Scriptures: "IIe that provldeth no
for his own and especially those of his oyil
household, is worse than Al inadel.'
We arr are p gone; but, If IL we have The
money to poy the premiums and do not pay
| them, we have no right To expect mercy at th,
| hand Of God in the Judgment. We are wors
| than Tom Paine, worse than Yoltaire, ant
worse than shalesbury. The Bible declare
| certificate of death has been made out, ant
| thirty or sixty Gays have passed. and the OF
| ficer OF life insurance company comes int
cash on an insurance policy, that officer of tn,
rite, according to the Apostle James, who says
True religion snd undsh'ed oetqse G2S b
fntherless,, and the widow In thei
nfl'iction," and so on. The religion, of Chris
| proposes to take care OF the temporal wants q
He2ekiah was dying the Injunction came Z
| him: set thy house In order, for thou shal
die and not liye.' That injunction in our da
accounts; make things, plain don't de
| teive your heirs with rolls of worthless min
inc stock; don't deceive them with deeds fo
western lands that will never never yield any ere, Gro
| notes that have been outlawed, and secon,
mortgages on property that VIII not pay tn
| first" "Sct thy house in order" That is, FL
| up things. so your going out OF the world ma
make as little CONSERVATION as possible. Sc
the lean cattle deyouring the fat cattle, an
in the time OF plenty prepare for the time o
want. The difficulty Is. when men think o
their DEATH they are afraid to think of 1t onl
In connection with their spiritual welfare, an
not of the devastation in the household. whic
VIII come because OF tnelT elllgThtlOu from ~
1t is meanly selfish for you to be so absorbe
in the heaven to which you are going that 20
forget what is to become of your wife an
children after you are deal. You can go ou
of this world without leaving dollar, and "
die happy If you could not provide for then
| you can trust them in the hands OF the Go
who owns oil the harvests. and the herds
and the flocks; but If you could pay the pre-
mlums on a policy and neglect them, It Is
mean thing for you to go up TO Heaven Will
they go into the ,poorhonse., You at deat
| move into a mansion, river front, and the
move into two rooms on the fourth story Of
tenement house In q back street. When tho
are out at the elbows and knees, the though
Of your splendid robe In Heaven will not kee
them warm. The minister may preach
splendid sermon over your remains, and th
Inc eIsSn ioa; but your death death SiilL u i
vide for the comfort OF your, household whe
you left IL, and you wickedly neglected, !
Oh" says some one, u have more iaith tina
gIeye eyeds Tnsn 50 hsn S4 q 'Gs o Word o Bac
wells Island, go through all the poOr.houst
God provides for the neglected children {
| neglectiul parents. That is, lie provides Il
them through public charity. AS for mysei
| ! would rather have the Lord provide for m
| family in private home, and through m
| own industry, and paternal and eonjugal fai u
fiiness. But, says some man, II mean in Il
| next ten or twenty years 10 make great forlun
and so shall leave my family when &C, out
| tDlS WOllu very COmlOrlHOle'' HOW 90 yO
know you are going to live ten ortwenty year
| five could look up the highway Of the iutur
we could see 1t crossed by pnenmonlas, al
| pcurisies, and consumptiOns, aud eollidir
rail trains, and runaway horses, and brcakti
bridges, and funeral professions. Are you
certain you are going 10 live ten OF twen'
years, you can warrant your household HI
| comfort after you go away from them
Besides that, the vast majority OF mt
dIsd succeed IL 6n'iheg'. Are YOU We We
certain you are going to be one Of the two
Rich one day, poor the next. A man in Ne
York got 100000. and the money turned j
brain, and he died In the lunatic asylum. A
| his property was left with the business FRI
and they swamped 1t, aud then the lami
| of the insane man were left without dolla
In eighteen months the prosperity, the /
sanity, the insolvency, and the con
| plete domestic ruin. Beside that there a
men who die solvent, gho are insolyent befo
| lheY get nnder The ground or before lheir esta